Determination of nimodipine in the presence of its degradation products and overall kinetics through a stability-indicating LC method.

The determination of nimodipine in the presence of its degradation products, formed through photolysis, acidic and alkaline hydrolysis, and the drug degradation kinetics under these conditions, was investigated through a validated liquid chromatography method. Separation was achieved using a Phenomenex Luna C18 column (250 × 4.6 mm i.d., 5 µm) with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-methanol-water (55:11:34, v/v/v), at 0.5 mL/min and with ultraviolet detection at 235 nm. The method was considered to be specific, accurate, precise, robust and linear over the concentration range of 5.0 to 35.0 µg/mL. The drug followed a first-order reaction for both hydrolysis and photolysis in methanol, and zero-order for photolysis in acetonitrile and water. The calculated activation energies were 10.899 and 23.442 kcal/mol for alkaline and acidic hydrolysis, respectively. No degradation was observed under thermal and oxidative stress conditions.